Saudi Arabia pays $4.2bn in aid to its citizens

Saudi Arabia has paid $4.2 billion to its citizens over seven months as part of the government’s Citizen Account Programme to support nationals in the face of rising energy prices and newly-imposed taxes, the Anadolu Agency reported today.

The programme’s General Manager, Ali Al Rajhi, said in a statement that a total amount of 2.4 billion riyals ($640 million) has been deposited in the bank accounts of the eligible citizens.

Aid, Al Rajhi explained, has also been delivered to 12.5 million Saudis, including 3.71 million households, an independent individual and 8.8 million dependents.

According to the government-run General Authority for Statistics, 61.3 per cent of the population has benefited from the scheme.

The Saudi government has allocated around 32.4 billion riyals ($8.64 billion) to the programme for this year.

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The Citizen Account Programme is a national programme that was initiated by the Saudi government to protect middle and low income Saudis from expected direct and indirect impacts following the various nation-wide economic reform activities.

The programme was adopted after Riyadh increased energy prices and imposed new taxes and tariffs following a global fall in oil prices.